Before we finish with Hit Records, let's hear a few more songs from 1943-1944 that were under-recorded due to the recording ban.
We'll start with a few more of the fishy ones from 1943...
From MGM's all-star "Thousands Cheer" comes "I Dug a Ditch," performed by the mysterious Willie Kelly:
The label misnames the movie "As Thousands Cheer," which was actually the 1933 Broadway show featuring "Easter Parade."
The song itself is nothing much, but it's sung twice in the movie, once by Kathryn Grayson with a group of soldiers, then reprised by Kay Kyser and his band in a really fun segment of the all-star show.
Interesting that the sheet music features Judy Garland so prominently, even though she had only one number in the movie. Goes to show how popular she was!
Conversely, Kathryn Grayson's co-star, Gene Kelly, only gets his name in a star like everyone else. He had to make "Cover Girl" over at Columbia to show MGM what a talent they had!
Next up is Peter Piper with "Take It Off the E-String" from the Barbara Stanwyck movie "Lady of Burlesque":
That movie actually received an Oscar nomination for Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture!
"Peter Piper" seems like such an obvious pseudonym, but "Hal Goodman" sort of sounds like it could be an actual bandleader, but I think it's just a name to put on the label of this record, which is the song "Take It From There" from the 20th Century-Fox Betty Grable vehicle "Coney Island":
Whoever "Allen Miller" was, he (they?) were busy in 1943 with a number of releases on the Hit label.
Here's the Oscar-nominated "We Mustn't Say Goodbye" from the all-star "Stage Door Canteen":
It's strange to see the word "mustn't" spelled out! That doesn't look right! It mustn't be correct!
The not-quite-all-star Paramount release "Salute for Three" featured the song "Don't Worry":
I see MacDonald Carey in old movies from time to time (including Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt," also from 1943), but the mention of his name instantly makes me think of my mother watching "Days of Our Lives" on TV and hearing him say, "I'm MacDonald Carey and these are the days of our lives."
We cheat a little here with "Rosie the Riveter," as it was a song first in 1943, then was used as the title song of a 1944 movie from Republic, but here's the Allen Miller recording:
Such a fun song!
I must point out that Jane Frazee was way more attractive than the poster art would indicate!
Some interesting records, but the performances seem all over the place, as befitting the shady nature of the recordings!
Also, the labels on a lot of them are not even, with the top logo not at quite the same angle as the text. I was getting dizzy!
Next: We officially move into 1944 with some real bands!
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